Procedure of crew change in Merchant Navy
In this article we will discuss about the procedure of crew change in merchant navy and the problems faced by the seafarers during the same.
Crew change – Happiest day for the seafarers in Merchant Navy :
(1) Crew change means relieving a seafarer who has completed his contract successfully, with the seafarer of the same rank.
(2) The crew change day is the happiest day in the life of a seafarer.
(3) Seafarers while working onboard ships face many challenges during their tenure. They also stay away from their families for longer periods of time.
(4) They eagerly wait for this moment.
(5) And when this moment comes, they enjoy every moment of it.
Procedure of crew change in Merchant Navy :
(1) The contract period in merchant navy for officers is normally 6 months and for the crew is usually 9 months.
(2) When the seafarer is about 2 months away from completing his contract, the shipping company starts the process of finding his reliever.
(3) The crew manager of a shipping company gets automatic notification for the same.
(4) He then finds a suitable candidate to relieve the seafarer working onboard.
(5) The crew manager contacts the reliever and asks for his availability.
(6) After getting a go ahead from the reliever, the shipping company starts his joining process.
(7) First, the checking of the validity of all the required documents of the reliever, takes place.
(8) If any documents are expiring in the next 8 to 10 months then the reliever is asked to renew them.
(9) Once all the documents of the reliever are ready he is sent to take a medical examination to a DG approved doctor.
(10) The travelling documents like visas, travel tickets and guarantee letters of the seafarer and his reliever are arranged by the shipping company.
(11) When the ship reaches a convenient port then the reliever joins the ship.
(12) The reliever spends some time with the seafarer onboard and the handover – takeover takes place.
(13) During the handover – takeover, the seafarer explains about some important work related things to his reliever.
(14) The time given for handover – takeover depends on the rank of the seafarer in question.
(15) After this, the reliever takes the charge and the seafarer signs off from the ship.
Problems faced during the crew change :
(1) The crew change operation is not as easy as it seems.
(2) Sometimes the rules and regulations of the various countries makes it difficult to do the crew change.
(3) Also the reliever sometimes backs off from joining hours before scheduled departure.
(4) In that case the shipping company can’t arrange the suitable reliever in short frame of time.
(5) Also global scenarios like wars and pandemics also affect the crew change operation.
Conclusion :
Crew change sometimes gives headaches to the shipping companies and also to the seafarers. Nevertheless, when all the things align it becomes the happiest memory of the seafarers.
Hello. This is Alkesh Patil. I am a Marine Engineer with 10+ years of experience in Merchant Navy. In this blog, I will try to provide some basic information about merchant navy and life onboard ship.
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